Cops’ versions of killing at odds with videoCHICAGO — Police officers who watched a colleague shoot a black Chicago teenager 16 times filed reports depicting a very different version of events than what dashcam footage showed, portraying the teen as far more menacing than he appeared in the video. The city released hundreds of pages of documents late Friday pertaining to the October 2014 killing of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald by Jason Van Dyke, a white police officer. Van Dyke was charg...

Sheriffs beat• A Russellville woman reported to Pope County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) Sgt. Damon McMillan that approximately $8,000 in power tools, hand tools and personal papers were allegedly stolen from a shop behind a residence on Upper McGuire Loop. She stated she agreed to move in with a male suspect last month in Lu Anne, Ark., where the suspect took the items from the shop. He allegedly told her she could have the items back when she returned a check...

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Compiled By Sean IngramThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Woman in California rampage had become more devoutSAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — A change came over Tashfeen Malik two or three years ago. She started dressing more conservatively, wearing a scarf that covered nearly all her face, and became more devout in her Muslim faith, according to some who knew her in Pakistan. But her path from there to the bloody events of this past week — when she and her husband slaughtered 14 people in a commando-style shooting rampage — remains a mystery, with FBI offic...

Local law enforcement trains for active shooterAuthorities were investigating leads Friday as they searched for a gunman accused of wounding a person inside a suburban Chicago Wal-Mart. On Saturday, a police officer and another person were hurt in a shooting at a motorcycle shop about 85 miles northwest of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and prompted an evacuation. It was the 357th incident that involved either an active shooter or mass shooting this year in United States. Today is the 340th day of ...

Audit finds former education group treasurer stole $78KFARMINGTON — An audit report says a former treasurer for the Northwest Arkansas Education Service Cooperative wrote checks to herself and family members totaling about $78,000 over a 17-year period. The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the audit was released during a superintendents meeting Tuesday. Cooperative Director Charles Cudney says the discovery was made in September during an annual audit of the organization’s finances...

The Latest: Britain claims 'real blow' against IS LONDON — The latest developments regarding the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq: All times local: 9:50 a.m. Britain's defense secretary says British Tornados struck at oil fields that help finance the activities of the Islamic State group — the first strikes to follow after a vote in Parliament authorizing military action in Syria. Defense Secretary Michael Fallon told the BBC that the Omar fields in eastern Syria were t...

Authorities arrest 3 in burglarySeveral reports of breaking and entering on Monday night resulted in three arrests. On Monday evening, numerous vehicles in the Cove Landing area were entered and items were taken from those vehicles, according to a press release from the Pope County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO). The PCSO’s Criminal Investigation Division developed leads on Tuesday and subsequently executed a search warrant at a residence in Russellville that afternoon. At that tim...

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COURIER STAFF www.couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

IRS: Warrant needed to use tracking technologyWASHINGTON — Internal Revenue Service criminal investigators will not continue to use cellphone-tracking technology without first seeking a warrant, the IRS commissioner told Congress in a letter made public Tuesday. Commissioner John Koskinen said his agency is drafting a policy to abide by the Justice Department’s guidance on using the technology, which simulates cellphone towers to trick nearby phones into revealing their locations. The gui...

Little Rock police seek woman in slaying of man LITTLE ROCK — Little Rock police say a man was stabbed to death at a home in the central part of the city and a woman is being sought for murder in the case. Lt. Steve McClanahan says officers found 33-year-old Jerry Moore Jr. Sunday morning in the home about three blocks east of Little Rock Central High School and that he died later at a hospital. McClanahan says investigators have identified 28-year-old Paradise Deanna Williams as the suspec...

Pulaski jail to open clinic for pregnant inmatesLITTLE ROCK — The Pulaski County jail will soon open an on-site prenatal clinic to treat pregnant inmates, months after it agreed to a $179,500 lawsuit with inmates who’d sued over the care they received at the facility. The clinic will include video equipment, a fetal heart-rate monitor and an ultrasound machine. A nurse from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences will visit weekly, and inmates can also receive care via video link th...

Cameron: Britain must attack IS in Syria to deny group safe havenLONDON — British Prime Minister David Cameron tried to persuade reluctant lawmakers to back airstrikes on the Islamic State group in Syria, saying Thursday that the Paris attacks have given the fight new urgency and Britain owes it to key allies to act. Cameron told the House of Commons that President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande had urged Britain to join the military campaign in Syria. “These are our closest allies and ...

White House undergoes holiday lockdown after man jumps fence WASHINGTON — A man draped in an American flag climbed over the fence at the White House on Thursday, prompting a lockdown as the first family celebrated Thanksgiving. The man was immediately apprehended and taken into custody pending criminal charges, the Secret Service said in a statement. The incident took place about 2:45 p.m. EST. An image of a man atop a section of fence in front of the North Lawn was posted on the website of television s...

Couple charged in 2-year-old son's accidental shooting death BENTON, Ark. — Police say two Benton parents have been charged in the shooting death of their 2-year-old son. Twenty-three-year-old Tabitha Ashley and 27-year-old Phillip Ashley were charged with manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a minor Monday after their son accidentally shot himself with a handgun last week. Police say the charges were based on evidence discovered during an investigation. The investigation is ongoing, and addition...

Sex offender wanted on registry violationsThe Russellville Police Department is looking for David Green (5-10-79). Green is wanted for failing to comply with certain aspects of his sex offender registry. Green also has a felony warrant for failing to appear to court on felony charges. Green is known to drive a gray 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer with a possible Arkansas License Plate # 391 UFE. He has connections to Redfield, AR, Russellville, AR, and the State of Texas. Anybody who has a...

Fate of terror mastermind unclear after raidSAINT-DENIS, France — The hunt for the mastermind of last week’s attacks took a bloody turn Wednesday to a Paris suburb where a fierce gunbattle with police left at least two people dead and eight arrested. The fate of the alleged ringleader was unclear, with authorities saying he was not taken alive and they were trying to determine if he died in the raid. Police launched the operation after receiving information from tapped phone calls, surv...

Police investigating shooting death of 2-year-old BENTON, Ark. — Benton police are investigating the death of a 2-year old after the child was apparently shot. The department says in a statement that police received a call about 1:35 p.m. Tuesday about a child being shot. The department says the child had been taken privately to a local hospital, where detectives responded. The 2-year-old was taken from there to a Little Rock hospital, but police say the child died as a result of the injuries...